Fancy Phones Change Friendships

I have spent enough time back in the US now to make, what I feel to be, appropriate and unbiased observations.  Yes, when I first moved back I had a hard time transitioning.  Ask anyone and they would confirm that every other word out of my mouth was Thailand.  Instead of "Mr. Sopelak said..." it was "in Thailand...."

But now, I have moved on.  I still love Thailand and miss it, but I am unbelievably grateful and happy to be back in the US.  That being said, I have a bone to pick with, well, a lot of people.
What is it with people and their phones?!  Ahhh!

Yes, I bought myself an iPhone, as I assumed I would, but I really don't think I am addicted to it.  The reason I believe I can say this is because it is so obvious to me that most of the people in my life are.  I am going to be honest and say that none of my friends are important enough in their jobs to have to check their emails every thirty seconds.  Sorry, but it's true.  And, if the email needs to be checked, it probably doesn't have to be done in the middle of the story I am telling you.  Or, while we are walking down the street.  Or while we are eating dinner.  None of us are that important.

I am guilty of checking my email too frequently, and I know it's only because I can. I know that the Banana Republic, amazon.com and West Elm advertisements, promotions and sales will still be there in a few hours, but I check for them regardless.  I check my email while I'm watching television, or waiting for the subway, but not while I am having a conversation with someone. I cannot stand that my friends choose our face to face time as an appropriate time to check their emails! If it is that important, or you are that important, excuse yourself. All it takes is a simple, "I'm sorry, I need to check for an important email. Oh! Here it is. I am going to quickly read and respond." That wasn't so hard, was it?

Then there is the facebook thing.  I love a great facebook stalking session just as much as the next person, but every twelve seconds?  How much could have really happened?  Did someone just comment on a photo?  Or update a status?  Or "like" something? Ahhh! Must. Know. Now! Really? You don't need to check your Facebook that frequently! How about we have a real conversation and take some photos of our real life interaction. Then, you will have something new to add to Facebook.  I know, I'm just talking crazy now.

But my number one telephone pet peeve is the texting. Oh. Em. Gee. The texting.  I have never been a huge fan of the texting.  I was in Thailand when I think texting really blew up.  I clearly remember driving home from the airport on my first trip back to the States in the fall of 2010.  My mom was driving and I borrowed her phone to get in touch with a few of my friends.  I called Dave and left him a voicemail.  I told him that I was back in the area for two weeks and would love to see him.  As soon as I hung up my mom said, "ummm... we don't really do that anymore."  I felt as though I had missed part of the car's conversation while I was leaving a voicemail and asked, "don't do what?"

"Leave voicemails.  Everyone just texts now."

And there it was.  I was thrown back into America with the slap in the face that I was behind the times technologically. 

For those two weeks and every other trip I took back to the States, I kept on calling.  I wasn't going to give in.  I love hearing a person's voice.  I love hearing their reaction and sarcasm and knowing what they meant by something, not wondering how a certain response was supposed to be taken.

I like to think that I have continued to keep up with my original goal of calling, but it isn't all that easy.  Now, I do understand that texting has its purpose, but I cannot stand text conversations.  If we are going to go back and forth a hundred thousand times, and misunderstand each other at least 500 times, can't we just call?

But the worst, literally the worst (quoting my cousin Mike right there... it has become a family joke) thing about texting is that people are always doing it.  Texting is fine when you are alone, sending a quick message or figuring out where people are, but not okay when you are with other people!  If you are spending time with me, for goodness sake, please stop texting all those other people!  No wonder the rate of ADHD has risen 28% over ten years! {source}

Everything we could ever want, need, dream or hope for, and more, is right at our fingertips in our telephone!  One conversation is no longer enough.  Now, we can talk to someone, play a game with someone else, text another person, poke another, wink at a fifth person and comment on another person's status all at the same time!  And I didn't even mention tweeting!

Okay, I'll get down off my soap box, pick up my iPhone and tweet about this blog post, proving myself to be a complete hypocrite, but I'm not with anyone right now, so I'll still consider myself to be the exception to the rule.

Don't stop tweeting, blogging, Words with Friends-ing, poking, Facebooking, emailing or  even texting- because I'm not going to- just don't do it while I'm trying to have a conversation with you, please!